Guy Ritchie Reportedly Eyed For Captain Britain/Black Knight MCU Film

Guy Ritchie is reportedly being considered for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film based around Captain Britain and Black Knight. Take this as a bit of a rumor for now considering the source (especially considering the information has yet to be properly vetted), but according to Ain’t It Cool News, Ritchie is being eyed to direct the film.

The site reports that Marvel Studios has booked Pinewood Studios near London to hold auditions in November and December for the project, with Ritchie booked for those dates. Pinewood became available after Bond 25 had to be delayed by Danny Boyle’s departure.

Captain Britain is the superhero alias of Brian Braddock, and has been worked on by some of comics’ greatest creators including Chris Claremont, Alan Davis, and Alan Moore. Braddock is the brother of Elizabeth Braddock (better known as the X-Men telepath Psylocke) and was offered the chance to become Captain Britain by Merlin and his daughter Roma after a near-fatal motorcycle accident. He has a mystical tie to England, which is where his powers of flight, superstrength, endurance, agility and durability come from. He is also only one of many Captain Britains throughout the multiverse, each of them responsible for defending their reality’s version of Britain.

Meanwhile, the Black Knight is also known as Dane Whitman and was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. Whitman inherited the powers of the Black Knight through his lineage and connection to the Ebony Blade, a sword that can cut through almost any substance including mystical barriers, and can absorb energy. It is also cursed, inflicting a blood lust on Whitman if he killed people with it.

The Black Knight has been a member of several teams including the Avengers, the Defenders and Excalibur — the latter being the most potentially relevant to this situation, as Captain Britain was also a member. Excalibur was a team of superheroes based out of the UK and operating as part of the X-Men line, as Shadowcat, Nightcrawler and Rachel Summers were founding members of the team alongside Captain Britain and Meggan. Captain Britain and Black Knight were both on a later version of the team that also had Meggan, Psylocke, Sir Benedict, Captain U.K., and Crusader X.